The Lion Legionnaires
The Lion Legionnaires are a group of knights and adventurers dedicated to upholding the highest caliber of good while defending the valley from threats of evil. Its two founding members King Gerald Leonsmane, and Queen Anezka , are both former Astrid Knights who left so that they could build this order on the moral standards of upholding good and law. The Lion Legionnaires are led by a singular authority figure with the title of Grand-Marshal who manages both branches of the Legionnaires. He is assisted in his decision making by a panel of councelors for him to gather ideas from and reflect his thoughts upon. Player Character Members: Current Player Characters that are members of the Lion Legionnaires include: Ajantis Goodman Altair Andy Blake Lady Anezka Leonsmane Wayloyl Loyalten Gerald Leonsmane Melyanna MIA members: Cyrus Grosbash Glittermouth Ronan Skygem Sorn Karibe Symbol and Name The Symbol for the Lion Legionnaires is the roaring face of a lion encased within the Beldin symbol. This is to show the Lion Legionnaires as an order founded in Beldin with the purpose and best interested of Beldin and its people at heart. While the lion itself is a symbol of regality, nobility, pride, ferocity, and strength all qualities in which the Lion Legionnaires share. The color purple comes from the orders founder Gerald Leonsmanes history as a Purple Dragon Knight of Cormyr and the color continues to be used now in this order. The reasoning behind the name of this order comes from a play on words of Leonsmanes name and combining it with the power and military strength that the word Legionnaire brings with it. Lion Legionnaire implies, honor, with force. Objectives The goals of the Lion Legionnaires as a whole are often seen as lofty and unreachable, however nontheless they strive towards it with the utmost optimism. The objective of the Lion Legionnaires and its purpose in the valley is to act with two purposes. The first purpose of the Lion Legionnaires is to combat evil in the valley much in the same way that the Astrid Knights do. The military is designed specifically for combat against the forces of the most vile darkness and it is seen as a duty of its members to oppose evil. The second but equally important purpose of the Lion Legionnaires is to promote the spread of good through the valley. Through helping their fellow citizens of Beldin, they hope to replace the evil in the valley bit by bit with good showing people that there is strength to be had in being virtuous. Additional goals of the Lion Legionnaires are to cure the sick and injured free of charge at the very first non-profit non-biased hospital in the valley. They also maintain an Art Museum in which the finest art in the valley is show-cased for the aesthetic pleasure of all who wish to come. Thus the Mission Statement that all Lion Legionnaires memorize is as follows: "I (Insert Name Here) solemnly swear to uphold the greatest standard of good, as set out by the words of all good deities and my Grand Marshal, to use my sword only for rightous cause, to protect those who cannot protect themselves, and to cure those, who are incapable of seeking aid. In doing so, evil shall have no power over me, in life or in death." History The Lion Legionnaires main headquarters is built within what was formerly the Red Knights Temple. However during the Reign of Malark Szek'Thuul and many of his followers led an assault upon the Red Knights Temple resulting in a masacre on both sides and in the death of Thuul himself. The massive casualties of so many paladins, combined with the presence of so many evil souls falling aswell all on holy ground resulted in a gross tainting of the temple turning it into a possessed ghost of what it once was. Some twenty or so years after its taint, Lord Gerald Leonsmane and Lady Anezka left the Astrid Knights and in time cleansed the temple of the taint that had plagued it for so long. Soon after the Red Knights Temple had been cleansed Gerald Leonsmane went to the Queen of Beldin and petitioned her to give the land over to him so that he could begin his order as planned. She agreed and told him that the land would be his and that ownership of the land in the case of his death would pass on to his eldest male child ensuring that the land would remain in the Leonsmane family. Soon after the land was granted to the Leonsmane name did Gerald find a contractor and begin restoration of the damaged temple and order the new construction of a hospital, and an art musuem along with an additional outer wall surrounding the Lion Legionnaire territory. In addition to this he also contracted the holowing out of a second level to the interior of the temple adding in a barracks, forge, and place of worship along with several rooms for higher ranking members who wanted to be on call at all times. Divisions of the Lion Legionnaires The Lion Legionnaires are divided into two main groups. The Ordo Gladius, and the Ordo Animus, each has a different role in seeing that the ultimate goal of the order comes to fruitation. Ordo Gladius: The Ordo Gladius is the martial aspect of the Lion Legionnaires. It is the organized military dedicated first and foremost to upholding good and justice. The Military Handbook describing the Ordo Gladius and how its organized can be found here: Military Protocal Handbook. Ordo Animus: The Ordo Animus is the more religious and peace orianted aspect of the Lion Legionnaires. They focus primarliy on peace tactics, and in healing the sick and wounded at the Hospital, along with the placement of holy enchantments and blessings of the Ordo Gladius's weapons. The Tome of the Faithful outlines the Ordo Animus and its organization, it can be found here: Tome of the Faithful. Reputation: Being a relatively new order in the valley, the Lion Legionnaires do not have a very strong reputation in any regard. They are, however, known to be some of the only knights and adventurers to live by a code of honor. They are more willingly to work closely with Beldin's own agencies, and do not believe in withholding information, no matter how sensative it may be, and are overall considerd to have a stronger sense of civic responsability than their Astrid counterparts. There has, however, been some contraversie surrounding the order. While the Grand Marshal insists that the Lions are a holy order that follows the sacred teachings of the gods, some more traditional clergymen and paladins of the valley consider its lack of a patron diety to be suspicious at best. The order has also earned the ire of the Order of the Purging Flame for their refusal to hand over the Leonsmane's bastard child. Laws of the Order: The Lion Legionnaires are a very lawful order, and as such have many established rules and laws put in place to ensure the order members dedication to the highest standard of what is good and virtuous. The book of Lion Legionnaire law is often refered to as "The Codex" and is publically acessable in most any place books are acquired. More information on Lion Legionnaire law can be found here: The Codex of Law and Justice Category:Organization